The number of applications that make use of power metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) or insulated gated bipolar transistors (IGBTs) has increased in recent years as a result of the technological maturity reached in the manufacture of these devices, but more importantly, as a result of their falling retail prices. For example, discrete silicon carbide power MOSFETs are now affordable, and they can now be used in power supplies of street luminaires, as they provide high voltage switching with negligible dynamic power dissipation due to the low leakage currents afforded by the wide bandgap of silicon carbide
Despite these advantages, several issues remain in integrating power MOSFETs in a wide variety of circuits. For example, in power supply applications, current driver circuits for operating power MOSFETS may output voltage levels that are lower in magnitude than those required to drive SiC power MOSFETs or IGBTs. Furthermore, as a result of threshold voltage drifts encountered in SiC devices, it may be necessary to turn off a SiC power MOSFETs using a negative voltage, a capability that is not currently offered by existing driver circuits.